Tonight ` A broken bumper, a panel beater, alcohol and rotting Chinese food. We reckon there's something rotten here. Surrounded by fruit flies. Teething troubles? Just jumped around in the mouth. They` They wouldn't stay on my jaw. How do you give your dental complaint real bite? And ` No address. No address at all. No address. No address at all. Nothing. No address. No address at all. Nothing. No sender, no address. Lost something in the post? How does this happen? Welcome to Fair Go. Take your car to the panel beaters and you expect to get it back in better nick than you left it. You certainly wouldn't expect to find leftovers, liquor and evidence of larrikinism. Here's Mark. INTRIGUING JAZZ MUSIC To get the other side of a story, a phone call is sometimes as close as we can get. Sure. A broken bumper, a panel beater, alcohol and rotting Chinese food. Bit of a mystery, this one. Who knows what` what could've been happening with the car. So let's shine some light into dark places. So, this is your pride and joy? So, this is your pride and joy? This is my pride and joy. Yeah, come on in. Tiffany Pule's car needed its bumper repaired to get a warrant of fitness. The original damage was pretty similar to this. Went online and found, on the Daily Do website, a $99 deal at Onehunga's GT Pro Panel and Paint. I tend to read the nitty-gritty of these things, um, that it said to call the company pre-purchase to check that it was going to be covered. Uh, so I did that before I actually bought the voucher. He said, 'Yes, sweet as,' he said, and so I bought the voucher. But by the time she got the car to the shop, things had got more complicated. He said, 'Well, I didn't realise what kind of bumper it was. This is going to cost me more than the $99 that you've paid me, and I said, 'Well, I'm sorry, 'but I did describe the car to you, and you said sweet as. So now we're here.' Gt Pro Panel and Paint agreed to do the job, and within a week, the bumper was patched up and the car ready to collect. But Tiffany couldn't pick it up for a few days, which created a storage problem for the panel beaters. We tried and tried and tried but could only get the owner of Gt Pro Panel and Paint on the phone. He calls himself Adam but told us his real name is Mohammed Nazif. Two days later, Tiffany arrived to pick up her pride and joy. The first thing she noticed was the tyres. The whole rim has been scratched right from this point all the way around here. It wasn't when you dropped it off? > It wasn't when you dropped it off? > Absolutely not. It was in perfect condition. And when Tiffany looked inside the car, there was more damage. The centre armrest console was actually loose, and when I looked at it, I realised it was actually completely broken off. And worse was to come. I jumped in and went to adjust my rear-vision mirror when I noticed an old container of Chinese takeaways, surrounded by fruit flies. Yes, we painted in the fruit flies, but here's the photo taken on the day ` a container of old Chinese takeaways, and underneath, a dirty lid and three forks. Tiffany got the fork out of there. Windows down because of the stink and to let the fruit flies out. I turned a corner, and I heard something rolling around, and so I turned around, and I saw an empty RTD bottle ` bourbon and coke. Leftover Chinese takeaway? Leftover Chinese takeaway? Mm. An empty bottle of bourbon and coke rolling around? An empty bottle of bourbon and coke rolling around? Mm. What do you think was going on in your car? (SIGHS) My greatest worry is that they were out joyriding in my car. The owner wasn't there for Tiffany to fume at, but she knows her stuff. I called the MTA to get their advice. Um, unfortunately, this company is not a member of the MTA. So I didn't really have any action there. I called the Citizen's Advice Bureau to check on what I should do, and although those places couldn't help me directly, they advised me of the Consumer Guarantees Act. She emailed GT Pro Panel and Paint, asking them to fix the damage and contact her as soon as possible. That was almost two months ago, and no reply. And this is where the rubber hits the road. So what happened to Tiffany's car? Yes, you heard right. The nephew of Adam, also known as Mohammed, took the car without his permission and damaged it. It's not right, though, is it? Well, it's not right that your nephew took the car, damaged it and she got it back in that condition. So what are you gonna do about it? Well, it is a big deal to her, though. Tiffany contacted the elusive Adam, also known as Mohammed. He said he'd only fix up the car if Fair Go dropped the story. 'No way,' she said. Her story, Tiffany says, should act as a warning. Just been a really good reminder for me to use trusted, um, service providers that are members of, you know, trade associations and things like that. Because it might save you a couple of dollars initially, but the stress, the time, the repairs that now need to be done, it's certainly been more than $100 worth. Excellent advice, we think. Now, Tiffany got her bumper fixed. OK sort of job. The damage allegedly done by the nephew didn't get fixed ` the rims, tyres and console. Mohammed would only do it if we didn't do the story, and she doesn't want her car anywhere near him anyway. If you want to avoid the grief she got, grab a picture of the odometer reading when you drop your car off to get it patched up. Mechanics and panel beaters have a duty of care to your car when it's in their possession, and apart from a test drive, shouldn't really be taking it for a spin. After the break - I said, 'Thanks very much,' and walked out on him. Is this the frist time anyone's brought their dentures in to you? Is this the frist time anyone's brought their dentures in to you? Very first time. (CHUCKLES) Well, just how do you take on your dentist? Some patients are difficult? Some dentists are difficult? > Some patients are difficult? Some dentists are difficult? > Absolutely. And later ` You're waiting for a couple of DVDs that you sent to the UK, and you've been told they never got there. How to get your missing stuff back. You need to contact NZ Post. You need to contact NZ Post. And that's 0800 501 501. Welcome back. Most of us are pretty confident about claiming a refund or exchange for a product that's faulty. But if something goes wrong at the dentist, how do you give your complaint real bite? Here's Hannah. Inside this house, on this street in small-town NZ, a man who really didn't like making a fuss ` Gilbert 'Gil' Crosbie. Gil wasn't happy with his new dentures. How did they feel? > How did they feel? > Uh, floppy. You'll need to` You'll need to explain what you mean by floppy. > You'll need to` You'll need to explain what you mean by floppy. > Oh, they just... You know, just jumped around in the mouth. They` They wouldn't stay on my jaw. The original dentures cost around $1000. Gil then paid almost $300 more to have them lined to make them fit properly, and the lining worked for a few months. I-I wore them for a while, um, and I was able to eat for a while, and then they just started to fall to pieces. The dentures didn't fit; Gil's gums got very sore; back to the dentist. H-He was wanting to reline them again, and I said, 'I can't be doing this all the time. Not at that cost. $280 or $290 ` no way. For a pensioner like Gil, with a lot of other health expenses, $1000 was a lot of money. To then spend another $280, not easy, but to keep paying just to get the dentures right? I said, 'Thanks very much,' and walked out on him Of course Gilbert wasn't happy. That's me. I don't argue too much. (CHUCKLES) He simply couldn't wear his new dentures. Then I just took them out and left them out. He could only eat soft foods, but he still wanted a full set of teeth. It's just like rolling along in your car with no tyres on it. (CHUCKLES) There's a lot of nice things about living in small towns in NZ, but one of the problems is, unlike a big city, sometimes you don't get a lot of choice. So, with no other dentist in town, Gilbert sought help from his local Community Law office. On the day you went, did he give you a quote on how much it was going to cost? Not that I can remember, no. Karen got a bit of a surprise when Gil turned up. Gil had his dentures wrapped in a hanky in his pocket, and he brought them out and showed them to me. Is this the first time anyone's ever bought their dentures in to you? Is this the first time anyone's ever bought their dentures in to you? Very first time. (CHUCKLES) Karen quickly saw, though, that this was serious. Gil's diet was suffering ` extra stress on top of his other health issues. The day he came in, I think he was at his wit's end, really. One of the things that Gil kept on saying to me, 'I just can't afford this 'because he didn't have any more money to keep paying. And Karen thought, under consumer law, he shouldn't pay. And that just astounded me. You know, here's these brand-new pair of dentures having to be repaired once a year. Karen wrote to the dentist and phoned the practice ` no response. What's your take on what the dentist should have done for Gil? It was very clear that the dentist had an obligation to fix or refund. So is Karen right? We'll get to that in moment. First, we've heard from Gil's dentist. He says dentures are very difficult to get right, especially with elderly patients. He offered Gilbert a number of options, including regularly relining the dentures. He has no recollection of either a letter or phone call from the local Community Law Centre. So what are your rights? And who you can turn to when your relationship with your dentist or another health professional goes pear-shaped? Here's Hannah again. If, like Gil, you're having a stoush with your health professional, you are covered by the Consumer Guarantees Act. A dentist, like plumber or a carpenter, is providing a service and... They need to do so using reasonable skill and care, which means up to the standard of somebody who is competent in that profession. What's important with dental treatment or any other health service is informed consent. It's not just the health practitioner's job to say, 'Yes, you're sick. Take this pill.' They need to discuss all the implications of the condition and the treatment and discuss the possible risks and any extra costs that might be involved. Consumer law says you must first go back to the dentist. If you can't agree on a repair, replacement or refund, you can go to the Disputes Tribunal, Or you can ask the Dental Association for help. The problem's often poor communication. Absolutely. It's about the understanding between what the patient expects and what was delivered, and some dentists are extremely good at explaining. Some are not so good. Some patients are very difficult. Some patients are very difficult. Some dentists are difficult? Some patients are very difficult. Some dentists are difficult? Absolutely. Um, but in context, we know that, in the last year, over 2 million NZers have had dental care. We know there's been a few hundred complaints. So it's that 'one in 10,000' type of incident. David says dentures are tricky for older patients. They don't heal as quickly. Their gums are more irritated more easily, and so there is the need at times to provide relines and soft relines, and that can be a constant process. That process and the cost was a key problem for Gil. So how important to be fully informed of those possible costs? Our stance on that is that dentists are to discuss fees before they begin treatment. Uh, and if they haven't done that, then it's very difficult for them to, um, to win that issue. If Gil had come to the association for help, they'd try to negotiate a resolution with the dentist. If that failed, they could seek a second opinion. To assist us with deciding whether the dentures were right or not. Um, it may just be about a better explanation. Uh, it may be about, um, refunding the money and starting again. David wants patients to bring their beefs to him ` here's the website ` and he says he'd be happy to take a look at Gil's case. But if the problem is more your dentist's behaviour or competency, that complaint goes to the Health and Disability Commission, and maybe then on to the Dental Council. The Dental Council's primary responsibility is to protect the health and safety of the public. The council also finds the same villain cropping up again and again. Poor communication could well be the, uh, the main cause of all disputes and concerns, and yes, communication is a critical part of a practitioner's competency. The Dental Council can order retraining, supervision or suspension for the dentist. They can't order a refund or compensation for the patient. If you want to check on your dentist, here's the website. It will list, against that practitioner, any conditions that have been imposed upon their practice. Now, hopefully that answers all of Gil's questions. Uh, sadly Gilbert has passed on since Hannah filmed with him, but his family were keen we run Gil's story. They say that's what he would have wanted ` for viewers to learn from his dental experience. We've got more info and links on our webpage, including where to find the very useful Patient's Code of Rights. Now, Gil got excellent help from his Community Law Centre, and we do the same all the time. So I just want to say a big thank you to the many amazing people at Community Law centres across the country. Yes, absolutely, and up next, how do peoples' wallets end up in postboxes? You won't believe the answer, and what you need to know if you've had stuff lost or stolen. How did wallets end up here? And ugg boots, crossbows, fishing rods. So there's just so much gear and so much stuff being recovered. Car seats, DVDs and food. Christmas cakes and stuff like that. Christmas cakes and stuff like that. Oh. Oh, OK. How does this happe Welcome back. Last week, we saw how NZ Post and police hold public auctions of stolen and lost gear, with some real bargains to be had. with some real bargains to be had. How on earth did it all get there? If your stuff's lost or stolen, how do you get it back before it's auctioned off? Even better ` how can you stop your gear disappearing in the first place? Here's Hannah again, first, at NZ Post. This is NZ Post's Auckland Mail Centre. We're here to find out why some mail doesn't get through, if it's ours, how can we reclaim it, and what might end up at auction. The most usual thing that people leave off when they're addressing? The most usual thing that people leave off when they're addressing? Probably the street number. Um, often the suburb. Misspelling of street names, place names. Sometimes the address is damaged; unreadable. A common cause of that ` sending fluids in the mail. Perfume, booze ` that's prohibited but happens a lot. So if they send a bottle of something that they shouldn't do, and it breaks open, and those items create havoc cos they damage all the items around them. And here's a true story ` Christmas parcel with... Just a person's name, a Christian name, and a town. A place in Te Awamutu with the name of John on it. So then the staff... No, we would send that on to Te Awamutu. Where the staff would take one look at the German stamps and franking and say... 'Gosh, I know a John that went to that particular country. So perhaps it's them.' We have actually successfully delivered those items. We have actually successfully delivered those items. Amazing. Slightly easier ` This only had Katie's name but no clear street number. We have no street, drive, avenue or anything. No suburb. Katie? So Katie, no surname. Katie? So Katie, no surname. No surname. Katie? So Katie, no surname. No surname. And no sender at all? NZ Post's experts have worked out the addresses of this entire bin of badly labelled mail and... Those are all going out for delivery today. Items may need to be opened to try and find contact details. If none can be found, they'll go on a register and be held for three months in case they're claimed, but with some packages... This item. This item. Oh! No address? No address at all? This item. Oh! No address? No address at all? Nothing. Has it got a sender? No sender, no address. This is going to be... This is really going to test your abilities, isn't it? How does this happen? It happens regularly. Well, here you go. Here's another. Customers get busy. They're busy people, I guess. They're rushing past a street receiver and, 'Oh, I've got to post my item.' In it goes. And they haven't remembered that they actually haven't put the address on at all? No address and... Once again, no sender. Once again, no sender. Nothing on the back at all. > Once again, no sender. Nothing on the back at all. > Nothing whatsoever. Often, especially at Christmas, there will be a card inside, so bingo. Otherwise they are stickered with the arrival date, go on the register and are held for at least three months. Food and perishables will be destroyed. Christmas cakes and stuff like that that has an expiry date. But much of this will end up at auction, except maybe not this one if we can help it. This was posted in NZ. Has been overseas to the United Kingdom. The delivery address was wrong, no return address, sent back to NZ, no clues on the inside, but... The post centre at Waiheke. That is franked on the item. So if you're on Waiheke Island and you're waiting for a couple of DVDs that you sent to the UK and you've been told they never got there, you need to contact NZ Post. and you've been told they never got there, you need to contact NZ Post. And that's 0800 501 501. Thanks. Also a handy number if you've recently lost... Loose wallets ` how did they end up here? We actually receive quite a few wallets in our street receivers. So those are the public posting boxes out there, often bereft of the money. So people would expect wallets, after they've been nicked, to end up with the NZ police, not NZ Post. You would. You would. Yet someone's popped them in the mailbox. They'll be kept here for a bit. If unclaimed, off to auction. But some of them get left by the actual owners? But some of them get left by the actual owners? They post their wallets by mistake. Pop them in the mailbox along with the letter and then think, 'Oh my goodness.' They're panicking. Can you return their wallet to them? And, in most cases, yes, they can ` wallets safely returned. So if we just go down here, you'll see that we've got a... All sorts of lost and stolen stuff held here at Counties Manukau Police Station. There are just so much gear, uh, and so much stuff being recovered. And the variety. Yes, that's a crossbow and a fishing rod, a child's car-seat cover, and I think that's a wig. Too scared to look. And Ugg boots. Stuff comes from wide and far. There's nothing to prevent stuff turning up at a search warrant in our area in South Auckland that might have been stolen in Invercargill. And lot of it will end up at public auction, which makes Dave Glossop pretty unhappy. It is actually frustrating for the police when it's stuff that we know someone would like to get hold of, and to have returned and there's nothing we can do. Why? Well, if you report lost and stolen stuff, it goes on the police register to be checked against recovered property, but your stuff needs to be uniquely identifiable, like serial numbers. If you were, to say, look at a PlayStation and just have the model number, you would have thousands of them. Um, so it would be pointless. you would have thousands of them. Um, so it would be pointless. Next to useless? > Some people do make lists, inventories of all their precious items, which you'd think would help if they get stolen, but... It's all too frequent that somebody has photos and have been diligent in recording details, but they've got it on their laptop, and it's the laptop that's been stolen. Which brings us to the SNAP system. It's a free service, a police initiative. You catalogue all your valuables with descriptions, serial numbers, anything that helps uniquely identify your precious things. That information is then available to you and to the police, so when they recover your stolen or lost gear, they check it against your SNAP details and return to owner. If everybody was using SNAP and everything was recorded on SNAP, it would massively reduce crime. Putting these warning stickers all over your windows helps. Police also recommend... Synthetic DNA. products like Selecta DNA, which is a unique identifier which you can mark items with. You paint small patches of synthetic DNA on your valuables. Each bottle has a unique DNA pattern. Under blue light, it'll show up on your stolen goods and will stay on human skin for up to six months. If you have got stickers outside your house, saying that the items inside are marked with some sort of synthetic DNA, then that's a great deterrent as well. Which may mean less stuff up for grabs at police auctions but hopefully less crime, more happy reunions. Police are doing search warrants every day. Police are having property handed to them every day. Um, so I can't give you a percentage. So it hugely increases the likelihood that if it comes to the attention of the police, it can be returned to their rightful owner. Finally, that's what we want for these photos, found with other stolen items in a stolen car. If you think you recognise these folks, the car or the building, please get in touch. Yes, we'd love to reunite those photos and possessions with their rightful owner. Email us ` The money from those auctioned items goes back to the police and NZ Post. They say the costs of getting the goods to auction and the low prices at auction means this is not a big money-spinner for them. We've put information on our website about that SNAP website and the synthetic DNA product. We've also been let into NZ Customs' lock-up and seen all the amazing stuff that ends up there. Next week, we'll tell you how to avoid your purchases suffering the same fate. Uh, some very sad news now ` Ernie Patterson died at the weekend. In recent weeks, we've featured Ernie and his wife, Liz, and their legal fight over a caravan. I'm just devastated. The Pattersons lost their case, and the judge ruled the caravan could be described as 'brand-new' when at least 4 years old. A couple of days after Ernie died, Liz got a $25,000 bill for the other side's legal costs. Our thoughts go to her. Yes, so that's the show, but Gordon and I will be on Facebook for the next half hour to answer your questions. Our programme's all about your problems, your thoughts, so do get in touch. No problem's too small, we always say. Now we really want to hear from you. We are on Facebook. Email us ` Write to us ` And next week ` OK. Well, this is our seized goods area. We're with customs. You can see it's locked. Cars, laptops, kava. Trying to be smuggled in. Screws, ciggies. Knives, knuckledusters. And much more. I reckon I could have a whip around at TVNZ and get some buyers for those. That's next week. Goodnight.